# Panic with 1.7.9p2

Zachary DeAquila (zachary@zachs.place.org)
Thu, 7 Mar 1996 06:51:50 PST

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    >Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 21:05:08 PST
    >From: asb@media.mit.edu
    >Subject: Re: Panic with 1.7.9p2
    >In-Reply-to: "Your message of \"Wed, 06 Mar 96 17:48:53 PST.\"
    >             <96Mar6.184854pdt.7634@silk.parc.xerox.com>, 6 Mar"
    >To: Pavel Curtis <pavel@parc.xerox.com>
    >cc: Amy Bruckman <asb@media-lab.media.mit.edu>, moo-cows.PARC@xerox.com,
    >        asb@media.mit.edu
    >
    >
    >  ;#2:crash({"foo"})
    >  *** Shutting down: server panic ***
    >
    >This is again on a Dec Alpha running OSF/1 V3.2A.
    >
    >The scary thing is, I didn't even need to suspend!
    >Trying this on a Sun SparcStation IPC running SunOs 4.1.3, even with a
    >suspend before and after, the task just runs out of seconds.
    >
    >So the problem is: anyone can easily crash any MOO running on a fast enough
    >processor.

    This is why max_seconds is adjustable... try doing a binary search for a
    max_seconds value that won't crash the MOO... yes, this involves crashing
    a test MOO a lot, but *shrug*.  You know the current value won't work, so
    halve it, etc. until you find a value that "secondses out" before crashing.
    Hrm.  Come to think of it though, you could be doing multiple-multiple-multiple
    list concats per turn... but that just raises the value of the base, which
    is a much smaller change than the exponent... given that, you might be able
    to cause the same crash on a Sun by doing something like
    ;#2:crash({"foo"}); and
    crash being:
    return #2:crash({@args, @args, @args, @args, @args ... });
    ...
    Hope this helps...

     --Zachary